andrews



@with tatrs atmt @fgt ALBERT F. ANI) JOHN l H. ANDREWS, OF AVON,CONNECTICUT.

Lczers ,Patent No. 64,058, tit/fed April 23, 1867.

MPROVED MODE 0F TREATING FLAX.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

3c it known that we, ALBERT F. and JOHN li. ANDREWS, ot' Avon, in thecounty of Hartford, n the State oi'Connecticut, have invented certainnew and-useful improvements in the Treatment of Flax.

The object of our invention is to remove the glutinous mattersenveloping the primary or` cell fibres of filmx .so that they can bemore readily' separa-tcd from each other by picking carding, or othersuitable machinery.

We will iirst describe the mechanical devices which can be used tofacilitate the chemical treatment. live employ a skeleton cylinderplaced within a tank, which -tank holds the chemical solutions, whilethe cylinder contains the flax and is slowly rotated during the process,thc lower half of said cylinder being immersed in the dill'ercntsolutions while thc upper halt` is'ahove and out of thclsamc. Thissecures a thorough circula tion of the Isolutions used, as gravitydrains oil' the solutions from thc upper halt` of the cylinder, whilethe slow rotation ot' the cylinder constantly immer-ses the lower halfof the same.l The tank may be made open at the top, but a cover can befitted at the top to exclude the air when desired. The cylinder and tankmay be made of a size suitable to hold five hundred or one thousand ortwo thousand pounds of flax, or more or less, asinay he judged best. Theskeleton cylinder can be made of various materials,` but wood isprobably the best on account of the chemical action of alkalies andacids on the cheap metals. The cylinder is made skeleton .or open-workin structure so as to admit the solutions and retain the flax. Thecentral shaft can be made of wood, or if oi' iron it should be coveredwith vulcanized rubber or other protection toprevent its corrosion byacids. Arms can be extended from the shaft to support the main b'ody ofthe cylinder. There should bc a longitudinal open space in thc centre ofthe cylinder', immediately around" the shaft, of one foot or eighteeninc-hes in diameter, as an escape for the solutions from thc upper halt'of the cylinder. It will also answer thc purpose for introducing anair-blast through the flax to dry it, andato aid in the disintegrationof the fibre at ythe close of the process. This open space should `bcsurrounded with longitudinal Slat-work, to kccp the flax in the body ofthe cylinder from filling it. The heads or ends of the cylinder', exceptthis open space, may

Vbe closed with plank or boards. The outside or circumference of thecylinder may be covered with slats made et' plank, two or three inchesivi-dc, with spaces between a little less than the width of the slats.The cylinder should also be divided into quarter sections of Slat-work,thc same on the outside, to keep the flax in .posid tion. Two or threemovable piecesV can be left on each section for filling and emptying thesections.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a cross-section of the cylinder just described.

Figure 2 is a corresponding section, showing an arrangementof doublenet-work carrying rollers and squeezing devices. Y

A is the open central space in the cylinder, B B are the slattcdpartitions.- C is the outside of the skelevton cylinder. D is thecentral shaft. l i

Another mechanical arrangement, having some advantages over the cylinderjust described, is te employ a tank two or three times as long as wide,in which isv placed an endless net-work in which the flax is enclosed.The twine of which the net-work is composed is covered with vulcanizedrubber to prevent the action of the 'chemicals upon it. The net-workdouble and contains thc'lax between the two thicknesses. It is suspendedover rollers at the ends of the tanlnand is carried around like anendless belt by motion given to the rollers. On the outside otl thenet-work other rollers, nearly in contact with those sustaining thenet-work, are placed to act as pressure-rollers to press outthesolutions from the flax. Other sustaining-rollers are'used, in additionto those above described, to aid in sustaining the loaded network, toprevent sagging and undue strain on the netting. The operationcl` lthisarrangement is similar to that of thc skeleton cylinder, with theadvantage of being able to use pressure-rollers to press out thedifferent solutions. It also facilitates washing the flax.

E is the interior and F the exterior portion of the ,double net-work. Grand H are the main rollers over which it passes. I I are thesustaining-rollers. J is a pressure-roller, which is weighted-orprovided with springs connected with its bearings so that it may yield.

Better results can he obtained from unrotted flax than from that whichhas been rotted. With the cylinder or neework loadcdwith thc flax, coldwater, or warm water below the temperature of 110 Fahrenheit, isintroduced andallowed to romain ten or fifteen minutes, when it iswithdrawn and fresh water introduced. Alternate cold and warm water isused until tive or six changes have been made within the space of two orthree hours. The warm water in the last one or two applications can beraised to 120 or 130. After two or 'three hours the warm-water processshould be arrested and the flax treated to boiling water for au hour, orit should be treat-ed `with ground beans or pe'a's in cold water, thesoluble port-ion onlyvbeing used, for :tf-halt' hour, when the liquidshould be withdrawn and the flax rinsed with cold water. T his arrestingof'the process should b'e performed as soon as the flax shows anyindication of fermentation by turning brown. The flax should next betreated with alkali. To a given quantity of caustic soda :ish orcarbonate of soda add twice the amount of lime. This lime in solution ina caustic state aids in dissolving the acid portion of the glutinousmatter in the flax. lVhen the alkaline solution has been introduced intothe tank the temperature should be gradually raised to the boilingpoint. The l'lax should be boiled for three or four hours, after which'the alkaline solution should be withdrawn and water let into the tank towash the tlax thoroughly, after which it may be steeped in a'hot, weaksolution of soda, or,its carbonate, or a cold solution of common salt,or chloride of calcium, or muriatic acid; or any two or all three of thelast-mentioned ingredients may be usedtogether iu the same solution. Theuse of these last-mentioned ingredients is not absolutely necessary tothe successful disintegration of the fibre, but more delicate resultsand easier bleaching can usually be obtained by it. After washing fromthe above solutions the flax is ready for bleaching. To any givenquantity of chloride of lime may be added an equal or less quantity oflime which has been previously neutralized with muriatic acid to changeit to chloride of calcium. Water can be added to this mixture to obtainany desired degree of strength, and the length of time required inbleaching will depend on the strength and temperature of the solution.The addition of chloride of calcium or other metallic chlorides changesthe chloride of lime solution from an alkaline to a neutral or,

acid character, and aids in dissolving the alkaloid portion of thegluten among the fibres not solublein alkalies.v

vAnother mode of bleaching, whether the above solution or ordinarychloride oflimeis used, is to immerse the flax in the solution and .thenwithdraw the solution and expose the flax to atmospheric air. Tofacilitate the process air can bc forced through the flax in thecylinder from the opening in theeentre thereof. This can be done bymeans of a fan-blower or air-pump, and connections, which maybe readilyconstructed by mechanics. I believe that the oxygen of the atmosphere,in the presence of chlorine, takes the active. form of ozone and attacksthe carbon of the gluten. Disintegi'ation is more easily effected inthis manner than by chloride alone. After bleaching the ax should bewashed clean of the solution, and can then betreated Wit-h good effectby soda, or lime, or the chlorides of sodium or calcium, eitherseparately or combined. TheI solutions can be used hot or cold, but thehot solution produces the best effect. The use of alkali/after bleachling is not necessary, but renders the subsequent treatment casier. Theflax, after being washed, should receive a weak bath of muriatic acid,diluted with water, to remove all the alkali that may remain in theflax, and should then be treated with a weak solution of urine in water,to remove all the chlorine that may be present in it, and to soften thefibre. The flax should next be treated to a weak boiling solution ofsoap, then rinsed, and again treated to a weak solution of urine, heatedto 1200 or 130, again washed and exposed to the air for a short time,and then treated to a weak solution of cider diluted with water, afterwhich it is ready to' dry without washing out the cider solution. W'armair from 90 to 110 forced through the flax in the cylinder aids both indrying it and in its disintegration. Vinegar, beer, or any other productof fermentation, can be substituted for cider with good effect, or cidercan be used instead of urine with similar results. i

Having now fully described our invention, what wc claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent in the treatment of flax, toremovethe gelatinous matters enveloping the loriginal or cell bres, isas follows:

1. We claim treating it by the aid of the endless double net-work,arranged relatively tothe rollers Gr H, and to the tank,substantially asand for the purpose herein specified.

2. We claim, in. connection with the above, subjecting it to the actionofthe pressure-roller J, arranged as represented. v

3. We claim the alternate application of warm and cold water,substantially irr the -manner and for the purpose herein described.

4. We claim the treatment in the soluble protein solution obtained fromground beans, or other equivalent,

substantially as specified. A

5. We claim the treatment with the chloride of sodium, or-itsequivalent, after the treatment with the alkali, before the bleaching,substantially as herein specified.

6. We claim the employment of metallic chlorides in the bleaching bath,substantially as and for thepur-- pose herein specified. l I

7. We claim blowing atmospheric air through the interstices after thematerial'to bc bleached has been emerged in a solution containingchloride of lime, whether this solution is prepared 'rn the ordinarymanner or as above described.

l 8. We claim the use'of alkaline solutions after bleaching,substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

9. We claim the treatment with urine, in connection with the treatmentwith soap, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

10. We claim the treatment with cider, or equivalent vegetable acidsolution, the termination .of the 11. We claim the use of atmosphericair, forced through the flax, in connection with an alkaline solution,V

lsaturating the flax, as a bleaching and disintegrating agent,substantially as -lierein specified. Y

' ALBERT F. ANDREWS,

JOI-IN H. ANDREWS.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK RIPLEY, M. H. BARTLETT.

